Othneil buries the hatchet - JLP's Lawrence vows to retake St Ann North East

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker candidate for St Ann North East, Othneil Lawrence, is relishing his return to the bosom of the party after last week's landslide victory in the selection contest.

According to Lawrence, his estrangement from the JLP was "an extremely painful period" of his political life, but feels validated by the selection exercise which saw him beating his nearest rival more than two to one.

"I cannot begin to tell you how painful that whole period was. It has been very painful, and it affected me, my family and even my relationship with people in the party. But today, I am happy that I stayed the course and fought for what I knew to be the right thing, and the delegates of the constituency have placed their faith in me once again," Lawrence told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

Lawrence became a first-time Member of Parliament in the 2007 general election under the leadership of Bruce Golding, before being ousted by the People's National Party's (PNP) Dr Dayton Campbell in 2011.

lost faith

Following that defeat, Lawrence threw his support behind Audley Shaw, who made a unsuccessful bid to replace Andrew Holness as leader of the party in December 2012.

That support caused the leadership of the party to lose faith in Lawrence, with overt and covert measures being used to remove him as the caretaker for the constituency.

Determined not to be pushed out, Lawrence took to the courts to restrain the JLP Leader and its general secretary, Dr Horace Chang, from removing him without a contest.

Last week, in a three-way run-off, Lawrence secured 303 votes to his nearest rival, Karen Chuck, 163, while the man the party leadership reportedly wanted to replace him, former PNP standard bearer, Ivan Anderson, picked up only 28 votes.

With Holness offering him congratulations for his victory via email, Lawrence declared that he is now ready to work to regain the constituency for the JLP.

"It's about burying that hatchet and readying the constituency for a JLP win again. I can beat Dayton Campbell (sitting MP). Yes, he has some good programmes, but compared to what I did in four and half years, I can beat him," declared Lawrence.

He thanked Central Clarendon heavyweight and elder statesman of the party, Mike Henry, for brokering meetings between himself and the party's hierarchy.

According to Lawrence, without Henry's help, it was unlikely that a selection run-off would be held.